Modern building control systems comprise a large number of devices, for example sensors, lights, valves, HVAC equipment and security equipment. In the context of the present invention these devices are referred to as host devices. The most advanced buildings are approaching one host device installed per square meter. The commissioning of building control systems is increasingly labor intensive and prone to errors. For example, it has been shown that the technical installations in 70% of the utility buildings in the Netherlands do not function according to specification, causing an increase in energy consumption of 25%.
Commissioning of building control systems involves localization of host devices followed by establishing control relationships between these devices. The latter is referred to as the configuration of the host devices. For example, a valve controlling the heating unit in a particular room must be connected to the temperature sensor in that very same room. Also, in case one of these devices fails, it is necessary to know where the device is located in order to be able to replace or repair it.
It is noted that, in the context of the present invention, the complete system comprising sensors, actuators, and controllers used to control HVAC, lighting, security, and safety in a building is called a building control system (BCS). A component (e.g. a computer) or a subsystem of the BCS that is used to commission the BCS initially and possibly to (partially) re-commission it later is referred to as a building commissioning system.
Typically, localization methods for localizing host devices in a building control system comprise a step of manually identifying a particular device, for example, by pulling a barcode sticker off that device—the barcode uniquely identifying the device—and sticking it on a technical drawing of the building next to the symbol representing said device. Subsequently, this association between sticker and symbol is input into the building commissioning system through further manual intervention. Clearly, this process is time consuming, expensive and prone to errors. Configuration, i.e. establishing control relationships between devices, is subsequently done by interacting with the building commissioning system.